1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a writing instrument with a housing for receiving, in a housing section positioned opposite a writing utensil, a stamping device with an ink pad and a stamp plate which is supported by a stamp bracket slidable relative to the housing section, for rotation about a transverse axis between an operating position pivoted transversely outwardly relative to the stamp bracket and an idle position pivoted inwardly against the stamp bracket in which the stamp plate engages the ink pad.
2. The Prior Art
In order to combine a stamping device with a ball point pen to form a structural unit, it is known (U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,665) to insert a stamp bracket into the housing of the ball point pen, the stamp bracket supporting a stamp plate on the one hand and an ink pad on the other. Whereas the stamp plate is mounted at its longitudinal center for rotation about a transverse axis on the stamp bracket and is pivotable from an idle position in which it engages the stamp bracket to an operating position extending transversely of the housing, the ink pad is linked to one end of the stamp bracket set back by half the length of the stamp plate relative to the stamp plate connection, so that the ink pad, when the stamp plate is pivoted inwardly to its idle position against the stamp bracket, may be pivoted inwardly from its spread out position against the stamp plate in order to ink the image face of the stamp plate for the next stamping operation. In this position, the stamp device may be secured by a cap-like housing section pushed over it and which must be pulled off for using the stamping device. As this cap-like housing section is pulled off the ink pad is spread away from the stamp bracket by an appropriate spring force and the stamp plate is thus released which may then pivot into its operating position under the force of gravity. A major disadvantage of this known writing instrument is that the ink pad, which must be spread outwardly to release the stamp plate, interferes with the working of the stamping device, and that soiling is likely to result if the ink pad is touched while the stamping device is being used.